Go On, Take a Deep Breath

In case you need a reason to get rid of stress in your life, here's the best one.

Cortisol, the adrenal hormone that mediates stress responses, is toxic to neurons in the part of the brain responsible for memory and emotion.

Dr. Andrew Weil says so in his book, Healthy Aging (Knopf, 2005).

What that means is that too much stress drives you batty. Sort of.

"What we need to do is learn techniques to manage stress. That's what I advocate," Weil says.

He's a realist. Eat a balanced diet, exercise regularly, make sure you get enough rest, take a nap if you must, and you might avoid age-related diseases such as cancer, stroke and Alzheimer's.

Learning relaxation techniques is a good thing, he says.

"It leads to better physical and mental health," he says.

"But it's a mistake to imagine that we have a corner on stress in the modern world. Life has always been stressful. It's just that the forms change."

The answer to relieving stress is as easy as breathing in and breathing out.

His solution is working with the breath "as the simplest, most efficient way of taking advantage of the mind-body connection to affect physical and mental health."

Dr. Weil's two-minute breathing technique >